Whole30: Tom Kha Gai

Holy Cow, I'm on Day 26!!!! I can harldy believe that I have made it this far into the Whole30. My will is strong, my stomach is smaller, and I'm hungry! Only 4 more days to go.

I started to clean out my fridge today and go rid of all the paleo left overs that I am never going to eat. *WARNING*: This may disturb you. I threw away an 3 week old chicken neck from my first night on this diet which I planned on making into a stock or broth. Spoiler: I never did and it was SO DISGUSTING!!!! Clean out your fridge, people.

So, now that I'm halfway into my 4th and last week of the Whole30, I wanted to make something special and delicious. If you're like me then you LOVE Thai food and have been having serious withdrawals during the last 26 days. So, I decided to try and make my favorite Thai dish:

Tom Kha Gai or Chicken Galangal Soup!



Every restaurant has their own way of making this dish. Even when my husband and I went to Thailand we didn't always love how this soup was made. When done right this soup can curl your toes, however if done wrong it can be very disappointing in so many ways. I've had Tom Kha Gai that is too acidic or too bland and it's so sad. I made this once before and the recipe told me to add juice from 4 limes! It was so limey and terrible. So, I decided to consult the experts this time and used a little home printed cookbook my husband picked up from our local Asian market in Provo.

This is the original recipe by Kanakum Lawson:

Coconut Soup

2 cups water
1 cup coconut milk
1 stalk lemon grass (remove top 1/3 and slice the rest into 1.5 inch sections)
2-3 slices galangal (Thai ginger)
1/2 cup straw mushrooms
3 Thai chili peppers
1 chicken breast, sliced
1 lime
2 Tbsp fish sauce
3-4 Kaffir lime leaves (remove central stem)
3 sprigs cilantro
1/2 cup baby corn

Boil coconut milk, water, galangal, and lemongrass in a pot on medium to low heat. Reduce to simmer and stir frequently otherwise coconut milk can curdle. Add chicken, kaffir lime leaves, and fish sauce. Let simmer for a few minutes and then add mushrooms and corn. Bring back to a boil and turn off heat. In serving bowls, add crushed chili pepper and squeeze 1/3 lime into each bowl. Add cilantro for garnish.

I followed this recipe, however if you've gotten to know me at all you'll know that I can't help but add my own touches to other people's recipes. First, we have to make it compliant, which means no baby corn and using paleo fish sauce (without sugar). Everything else is perfeclty acceptable.

Also, I really wanted to make my soup hearty so that I didn't feel hungry two seconds after eating it. So, I added potatoes and bamboo slices which are two of my favorite ingredients that can come in this dish. I also doubled the recipe because I wanted to eat it for days.

So, there I was, following the recipe. It smelled awesome, a perfect mix of coconut and lemongrass. I had added all my ingredients and it was time for the moment of truth: The Taste Test. I took a spoonfull, brought it to my lips AND... it tasted terrible! It was completely bland. What was I going to do? Had I ruined the recipe by adding so many things to it? So, I had to fix it. I looked different recipes up online, added a few different things, and this is how it turned out:

Mikyn's Galangal Soup

4 cups water
2 cans coconut milk
5 pieces galangal
1" piece of ginger, peeled
2 stalks lemongrass, top removed and rest cut into 1/5" pieces
3 Tbsp fish sauce
4 chicken tenders, boneless, skinless, chopped into bite sizes
3 yukon gold potatoes, chopped into bite size pieces
1 can bamboo slices
1 can straw mushrooms
1 chicken bouillon cube
*1 Thai chili pepper, seeds removed
4 Kaffir lime leaves, middle stems removed
2 limes, juiced
1 Tbsp onion powder
3 sprigs cilantro
1/2 onion, chopped (optional)

I really wanted to bring that savory, hearty flavor to the soup without masking the lemon/lime flavor which is why I added some chicken bouillon and onion powder. The lime juice really amped up the citrus flavor and brought the soup from blah to awesome!

Here's how I would have cooked it if I'd started with this recipe in the first place:

Bring water, coconut milk, galangal, lemongrass, and ginger to a boil over medium heat. Reduce heat and simmer for ten minutes, stirring frequently. Add fish sauce, chicken bouillon, onion powder, lime leaves, chicken, and potatoes. Simmer for another ten minutes. Add lime juice, mushrooms, bamboo slices, cilantro and Thai chili. Bring back to a boil for a few minutes. Serve with some fresh cilantro.

Adding these extra ingredients made the soup really good. I'm not sure why the original recipe didn't turn out well, it was probably some sort of error on my part, however I'm giving my new recipe a big SUCCESS!

Note about ingredients:

You should be able to find everything you need for this recipe at your local Asian market which will carry galangal, kaffir lime leaves, lemongrass, and thai chilis. Do not eat any of these ingredients, they are simply for flavor.

*Warning: Thai chili's are very hot and you only need one to spice an entire pot of soup. Handle them carefully. Remove the seeds and wash your hands, making sure you don't touch your face or eyes before you do.

Whole30: Chicken Lettuce Wraps

Day 11 of the Whole30! Good news, the second week goes WAY faster than the first. Then again, I don't think any week can feel as long as the first week of any diet. Still feeling good, still craving cookies like crazy. The last few nights I've even had dreams where I suddenly realize I'm eating something non-compliant, like a loaf of bread. It's terrifying.

Well, in my last post I mentioned that I wanted to post a recipe for Lettuce Wraps by @tara_eats_whole that I found on the Whole30 website. So, that's what I'm going to do. However, I did change it up a little bit to fit my own tastes.



Chicken Lettuce Wraps

1 lb ground meat chicken, cut into small pieces (remember the left overs from Butterflied Chicken?)
1 Tbsp oil (coconut, avocado, or olive)
1 small onion, diced
2 cup chopped mushrooms (I hate mushrooms)
4 cup shredded carrots + cabbage Chopped
bell pepper (as much as desired) (I hate bell peppers)
1 tsp fresh or ground ginger
3 gloves garlic, minced
1 tsp ground mustard
1/4 cup coconut aminos (compliant substitute for soy sauce)
Salt + pepper to taste
Optional garnishes – cilantro, chives, cashews, mustard, etc.
Lettuce for wrapping (She used butter lettuce, I used Romaine, though typically Iceberg is used)
My additions:
Water Chestnuts (for that delicious crunch)
Green Onions (add to pan right before you other veggies are done)

Brown meat in a skillet or if using cooked chicken, simply heat it up in skillet. If using a very lean meat add a tablespoon of oil. Once meat is cooked through, add in veggies and seasonings. Stir and sauté until vegetables are cooked, about 10-15 minutes. Wrap meat mixture in lettuce, top with cilantro, chives, cashews, and mustards if desired.

Now, this was pretty good, but if you're like me and you love the lettuce wraps from P.F. Chang's than this recipe will be a little dry for you. So I added this amazing Ginger Dressing I found on The Clothes Make The Girl.

Ginger Dressing

1/2 cup light tasting olive oil (not extra virgin!)
1/4 cup rice or cider vinegar
1 tbsp coconut aminos or homemade substitute
2 medium carrots, peeled and cut into chunks
1/4 medium yellow onion, peeled and cut into chunks
2-inch piece fresh ginger, grated (about 1 tablespoon)
1 medium clove garlic, peeled and smashed
salt and ground black pepper, to taste

Add all ingredients to a food processor (or blender or magic bullet, whatever you have) and puree. She suggests letting it sit for 10 minutes so the flavors can blend.

I didn't do anything to this recipe besides adding more ginger, carrots, and onion to fit my tastes. Just play around with it. This sauce made some good lettuce wraps into really tasty lettuce wraps and added the moisture I was looking for. I was thinking that adding some hot mustard would be good as well, if it's compliant.

Chicken Lettuce Wraps = Success!

P.S. Sorry, my pics aren't beautiful and professional. Oops!

Whole30: Taco Salad

I have officially made it to Day 10 of my Whole30!! Second week, baby! I've definitely had my ups and downs, but I'm feeling pretty good about myself and I'm excited to see my results at the end of this.

I wanted to mention that while I am on a "diet" exercise is very important to my results. My plan is to exercise 1 hour a day, 5 days a week. Unfortunatley I strained my thigh muscle during my husband's office softball game (while running to first) and I haven't been able to make it to the gym as much as I want. Excuses, excuses, I really need to pick it up, I know.

So, I was planning on blogging about a recipe for chicken lettuce wraps that I found on the Whole30 website, however I decided to talk about one of my favorite recipes that I've made in the last two weeks: Taco Salad. This is my first blog about a recipe that I put together myself, although I did model it after several established recipes. I hope you like it!




Taco Salad

Taco Meat - For this I looked up a recipe for homemade taco seasoning. This one is from Bill Echols at Allrecipes.com

1 lb ground beef (or any other ground meat)
1 Tbsp chili powder
1/4 tsp garlic powder
1/4 tsp onion powder
1/4 tsp crushed red pepper flakes
1/4 tsp dried oregano
1/2 tsp paprika
1 1/2 tsp ground cumin
1 tsp sea salt
1 tsp black pepper
1/2 tp 3/4 cup water

Brown meat and discard grease. Add as much of the seasoning as you'd like (I use half) and the water (depending on how much seasoning you used). Cook until water is gone and the seasoning has mixed with the meat.

Cilantro Lime Vinaigrette - This is a knock off Cafe Rio recipe which I changed to be Whole30 compliant.

6 Tbsp oil - I used olive oil. (Originally, the recipe called for half olive, half vegetable)
1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 Tbsp white vinegar
1 small hot pepper, finely chopped (I used a tiny bit of Jalapeno)
Juice from one lime or to taste
Salt and Pepper to taste
If it's not sweet enough feel free to add more lime juice or even orange juice to taste.

Combine all ingredients and let sit for at least ten minutes to allow the flavors to blend.

Sweet Potato Chips - I used these on my second salad and I thought they added a lot. This recipe was originally from paleogrubs.com.

1 sweet potato, peeled and thinly sliced.
1 Tbsp. oil (coconut preferrably)
Salt

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Mix sweet potato slices with oil and salt and lay flat on a baking sheet. Make sure the potato slices are VERY thin, use a mandolin unless you have a real talent for paper thin slices, otherwise they won't cook properly and won't get crispy. Cook for 10 minutes on one side, then flip and cook another ten minutes. Take any chips that start to brown out of the oven, they won't be good burnt. Obviously.

Putting the Salad together:

Chop up some romaine lettuce, add the meat and chips, and drizzle with salad dressing. I added cut up avocado and fresh cilantro. Feel free to add whatever you like, I like to keep things pretty simple.

This is a really tasty meal that doesn't make you feel like you're on a diet. I love making mexican food at home and I can almost forget that there's no beans or cheese when I eat this salad. I'm giving this recipe a big: SUCCESS.